Lake Garda Wrecks and Environmental Debates: Reuse and Preservation

The Tenace is certainly not the only wreck on the bottom of Lake Garda. In the Val di Sogno, a 37-meter-long iron boat originating from Mantua is a popular site for divers from the Veronese shore. In front of the Toscolano paper mill, there is a small tavern boat, and between Desenzano and Salò, a small ferry can be found. In 1891, a barge that transported women daily to work at the Olcese cotton mill, coming from the villages of the Brenzone Riviera, sank off the coast of Campione.

Conversion and Environmental Considerations

Another consideration: the Tenace is simply iron—no engines, no rust, no fuel. The Friends of the Earth, whose president Paolo Barbagli sparked the debate with his intervention, might have had excessive concerns. After all, the lake still contains tons of kaolin dumped from paper mills and tons of sludge deposited over the years by sewage treatment plants, before the technology developed to manage them properly.

The cleaning operation could prioritize those deposits. Finally, Luciano Rigatti, an engineer and diver, suggests using the Tenace as bottom ballast to anchor floating piers, which could be very useful during regattas.

Reuse Proposals and Long-Term Dreams

But perhaps it’s the right moment to realize an old dream cherished since the days of Bondavalli‘s direction at Amsea. By attaching an electric pump to the submerged Tenace, a high jet of water could be shot upward, similar to what is done in Geneva.